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Hair Removal by Light Ray?

By Sheri Gwen

Editors note: Transgender Forum does NOT endorse EpiLight. Nor does it vouch for the business described in this story. This is a very new form of hair removal without any substantial history of success.

Okay, now THIS is a little more like it...!!!

If you read my last article on the laser hair removal technique I tried, you may think that I would be the last person to write about another one, and I would have been the first to agree with you. The EpiLaser treatments I underwent were nothing short of a debacle, as far as I was concerned, and I wasn't looking to go emptying my purse out on another "Get-Beardless-Quick" scheme anytime in the near future. However, a very good TS friend of mine had recently begun a fairly new treatment called EpiLight that really piqued my interest. She had had one treatment at that time and was already very enthused about it.

EpiLight is not actually a laser technique although it works along the same principals as the EpiLaser treatment I had had. It actually utilizes a burst of high-intensity white light, not a laser, filtered to a specific wavelength suited to your particular hair color and skin tone. The fact that this technique was much more adjustable was what had me paying attention. However, I decided to play it safe and watch my friend's progress for awhile and let someone else be the guinea pig for a change. As the weeks passed, her enthusiasm continued to grow, she was looking and feeling fabulous, and after her second treatment, she was sold for good. I decided it was time to go in for a test treatment.

Part of what had also made me wait until then was the fact that I hadn't had the money to do it. This was the case until I made a very big change of plans. Plans for a certain bank account I had vowed never to touch labeled SRS Fund. When my financial situation forced me to start eating into it for such mundane wastes as rent, car insurance, and food, I realized that the whole thing could quickly evaporate before any of it had gone to any real useful purpose i.e., my transition. After a soul-wrenching couple of days of contemplation, I also realized that the money, in reality, would be better spent improving my immediate pass-ability. I could, after all, have SRS tomorrow and it wouldn't improve my passing. A clear face, however, is another story. So, with this new enlightenment, and most of my SRS money (which would have done the job in Belgium, dang it!) already gone, I decided to investigate how this latest modern miracle might be able to improve my life.

I made an appointment in mid-March for a test treatment at the clinic my friend had gone to in Pasadena, CA called Advance Medical Aesthetics. It was going to cost me $50 but if I was to continue with treatments, it would be applied to the cost of those. I was actually comforted by the fact that it was not free. Perhaps they really know they have something here and don't need to give it away to suck you in, I thought. I arrived for my appointment with a three-day growth of facial hair, as I was instructed, so I was feeling none too glamorous. I had gotten somewhat used to going around in She-Boy mode from time to time, but it was still never fun. My spirits were lightened however when I got into a conversation with a woman who was coming out from having treatments herself. She turned to me and saw me filling the forms out and said, "Jeez! And I thought I had a problem with facial hair! I don't feel quite as bad seeing you!" We laughed. I have a sense of humor. "Do they know what causes yours?" she continued sincerely.

I shared a grin with the receptionist. "Uhhh.... Massive hormonal imbalance..." I said in my best girl-voice, "I was born with it." The grinning continued.

"That's what I think I have." She said, "Do they know why you have it?"

I couldn't keep her in the dark any longer. "I think it has something to do with the fact..." I said, "...that I was born male."

"What... what do you mean? Born... male??? No way you were ever a man!!!" she said incredulously.

I was about ready to kiss this woman. I was sitting there with no make-up and a three day growth of beard and she was refusing to read me! Shows you what the right context and staying in character can do for you, girls! Only after I did my "Before and After" Drivers License Show did the reality fully hit her. She had never met anyone like me before, she said, and was very inquisitive, and I was very forthcoming with answers. We are all ambassadors, after all. As I was being led into the examining room, the receptionist apologized for her saying that she is a real wild one. "Are you kidding?" I said, "She just made my week!"

The clinic is run by Dr. Elizabeth Scott, MD (Wow... a real doctor! That is refreshing!). She is a very pleasant and bubbly person, very accepting and open to transgendered clients, and I liked her instantly. She explained the technique to me and examined my particular situation. Although I had some gray hairs which would be unaffected by the treatments, I was going to be a perfect candidate, she said: Light skin and dark hair (That had a chilling ring to it). I would get excellent results, she said. I shouldn't need more than a few (around 5 or so) treatments six to eight weeks apart. We could even address the lighter colored hairs eventually. The machine could be adjusted for them. And she was even using the "P" word! I somehow felt quite confident hearing her say it. (I had a chance to look around the clinic. It is a small place in a strip mall. The EpiLight machine was the only thing in there and was the total focus of the business, it seemed. They had been at this location for about a year and if this thing didn't work, I couldn't see how they could have survived.)

She also explained the cost to me. Each treatment of the full face, including neck, cost $900.00. However, she was prepared to offer a Guarantee if I purchased 3 treatments by letting me come back for as many more treatments as I wanted or needed (on the same area) for a year following the third treatment. My facial hair gone, guaranteed, for $2,700.00 was what I was hearing. Compared to what I had yet to spend on electrolysis, it seemed like a bargain indeed. If it worked.

Before First Treatment (top)
Before Second Treatment (bottom)

I laid down on the table and was eager for my test treatment. We chose a particularly dense area under my chin for the test. She first placed an ice pack on the area to chill the skin in preparation for the burst and to lessen pain and any swelling. Then, she put a very cold feeling, water soluble jelly-like substance on me to help transmit the light and lubricate the skin. She placed the device in contact with the area and I closed my eyes tight. SNAP!!!

The light seemed to transmit all the way through my whole head! It felt very similar to the EpiLaser flash, only I think this was a little more... uncomfortable. Like a bigger rubber band being snapped against my face. The flash seemed to last a little longer, too. She moved the device a little... SNAP!!!

Test complete! She asked how I was doing and I said I was okay. I would be able to deal with a face-full of that, I told her. She said it may become reddened and may sting for a bit, but nothing too bad. I needed to keep sunscreen on and keep it moisturized with an aloe lotion or the like. I got my stuff together and made an appointment for a month hence to have my first full treatment, barring any problems arising from the test of course.

For the first week or so, I couldn't even tell where the test had been once the redness went away. I was beginning to wonder if this had really worked at all. I was still shaving every day or two and as the second week started to kick in, I began to notice what seemed to be a less dense area under my chin. As the days passed, the area became clearer and clearer! The hairs in that spot were slowly working their dead, burnt selves outta there and as they did, nothing was replacing them! By the third week, there was a distinct, glaring BALD SPOT on my neck! The idea of that happening to my whole face was almost too much to imagine! But... how "P" word was it going to be? Still, I was so enthused by this preliminary success that I showed up for my appointment with Dr. Scott raring to go!

I arrived for my first treatment and Dr. Scott was very pleased with my results. She took some "Before" pictures to compare to down the road and she got a good one of the bald spot. I had nearly a 3 day growth on the rest of my face like before. I got up onto the table and we went to work. All of the preparations were the same, gooey gel and all.

The treatment is not pleasant. I was using no pain medication but my meditation technique seemed to be doing the trick more or less. I just kept focusing on how it was likely that each brief flash represented 15 or 20 minutes of electrolysis that I wasn't going to have to endure! At the point at which she was doing my upper lip, what she had warned me was the worst area pain-wise, she remarked at how I wasn't even flinching. "What a brave woman you are!" she said sweetly.

What brave women we all are.

After the treatment was complete, she put some ointment on my face and again warned me to stay out of the sun and still wear sunscreen. I had a bit of sun damage on my face and it had probably added to the discomfort during the procedure, she said. All in all she was very happy with the way it had gone. I went ahead and made another appointment for about 2 months in the future and bid her farewell until then.

My face stung like heck and getting into a 135 degree car didn't help things much. With the smell of burnt hair still lingering in my nose, I checked out the damage in the rearview mirror. My face was very red and sun burnt looking. But there were no welts or dark red spots. No swelling. The redness should go away within a couple days, she had told me. Which it did. The stinging went away within a few hours. I could have even put on make-up that first night if I had wanted to.

The next few weeks were just as I had experienced them after the test, although it seemed to take a bit longer to reach that bald spot phase over my whole face. It came around the forth or fifth week. I was euphoric! Dr. Scott had told me to expect a honeymoon phase at this point. Everything seems completely gone for a couple weeks, but a new phase of hairs would be coming back in... only fainter. Those couple weeks were like a dream come true. I even did my make-up a couple mornings without even shaving first, not that there was even much left to shave! Joy! Rapture! I didn't even bother with make-up sometimes! Just a bit of lipstick and eyeliner. Heaven! Nirvana!

I showed up for my second treatment almost two months after the first and Dr. Scott took more photos. I had what at that point laughingly constituted a 3 day growth and I couldn't get over the comparison of the pictures. She was very pleased by my results so far and was going to use the same settings again. This time, however, it didn't seem to be anywhere near as painful. She said it was because there was so much less for the light to react to. (Also, I had been using a pigment lightening gel on my face to deal with the sun damage for the last few weeks.) It seemed to go faster even though she used about the same number of zaps (around 130). When we were done, my face didn't feel anywhere near as burned and there was much less redness. She didn't think I would be needing too many more treatments. I went ahead and made another appointment for late July.

It has been a little more than two weeks since my second treatment. I am already getting to the totally clear phase. The last few dark hair holdouts are sloughing away. I still shave in the morning, there are still the light hairs, but it only takes about 40 seconds with my shaver. I may not even need to do that in another week (fingers crossed)! My friend has now had four treatments and when she went in for the last one, there wasn't even much of anything to treat! She was out of there in a jiffy. She rarely even shaves at all anymore.

So... what is my verdict?

Of course, I am in no position to say whether or not this technique is "P" word. However, I can not help but believe... from everything that I have experienced so far... that I am getting a very good value for my money at the very least. Dr. Scott seemed totally confident, knowledgeable, and assured of what she was doing. She seemed to have complete awareness of what this technique could and couldn't do. She never said that it would only take 1 or 2 treatments as the previous technician doing EpiLaser I saw had. Maybe it will take 5? Maybe 8? We will see. I will not really know the answer fully until I have gone the distance. I know I may be coming across a bit overly optimistic about this technique, but my gut feeling is telling me, my dear sisters: My SRS money was not spent in vain.

Check with dermatologists or skin care specialists in your area to see if they offer EpiLight. If they don't, they should be able to direct you to someone who does. It is a fairly widespread system.

The link for Advance Medical Aesthetics is http://www.advancemedical.com/

A link to a site where others tell of their experiences with EpiLight is http://www.fl.shavedsluts.com/wwwboard/messages2/10873.html

Please feel free to e-mail me with any experiences you might have had, as I intend to do a follow-up article within a few months... sherix@deltanet.com

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